The Big Upside Down Kingdom

Will Campbell, an old Mississippi Baptist preacher, preached a sermon once critiquing the invitation as it is given in most revivalist churches. He said, “Those of us who are acquainted with such invitations know that at the end of a sermon, the preacher invites people who want to commit their lives to Christ to come down the aisle to indicate that desire. I hope that someday there will be an evangelistic service in which, when the preacher gives the invitation and people start coming down the aisle, he yells back at them, ‘Don’t come down this aisle! Go to Jesus! Don’t come to me! Go to Jesus!’

“Upon that declaration, the people who were coming down the aisle turn around and exit the auditorium and get in their cars and drive away. He then yells at the rest of the congregation, ‘Why are you hanging around here? Why don’t you go to Jesus too? Why don’t you all go to Jesus?’ The people rise en masse and quickly leave the church, and soon the parking lot is empty. What I imagine is that about a half hour later the telephone at the police station starts ringing off the hook, and the voice at the other end says, ‘We’re down here at the old-folks home and there’s some crazy people at the door yelling that they want to come in and visit Jesus, and I keep telling them Jesus isn’t in here! All we have in here is a bunch of old ladies.’ But they keep saying, ‘But we want to visit Jesus! We want to visit Jesus!’

“The next call is from the warden down at the prison. He’s saying, ‘Send some cops down here! There’s a bunch of nuts at the gate and they’re yelling and screaming, “Let us in there! We want to visit Jesus! We want to visit Jesus!” I keep telling them that all we have in this place are murderers, rapists and thieves. But they keep yelling, ‘Let us in! We want to visit Jesus!’ No sooner does the cop hang up the phone than it rings again. This time it’s the superintendent of the mental hospital calling for help. He’s complaining that there is a bunch of weird people outside begging to be let in. They too want to see Jesus! The superintendent says, ‘I keep telling them that Jesus isn’t here. All we have here are a bunch of nuts, but they keep yelling at us ‘we want to see Jesus!’”

Jesus said that whatever you do for one of the least of these, you do for Him. In a culture that is obsessed with fame and fortune, it is so weird to think about serving and loving someone who is “the least of these”. That’s something I love about Jesus – His kingdom is upside-down. The hierarchy (if there even is one) is that the least are on top and those who are powerful are on the bottom.

Jesus showed this in who He showed love to. He showed respect and love to people that were on the VERY bottom of the totem pole - women, children, tax collectors, prostitutes, and Gentiles. That is beautiful.

A friend of mine was in a group that he loved very much. This group, however, was very exclusive. If someone didn’t speak as much as they should or missed a meeting, they were kicked out. The fear of being kicked out of the group hurt him very much and he decided to leave. 

That sums up how the religious system in Jesus’ day was acting. If you did not match up with their requirements – forget it. And for Jesus to rebel against that was huge! He talked to a woman in public, not only that but a woman of bad reputation and who was a Gentile. He asked the children to come to Him so He could pray for them. He asked people outside of the Jewish order to be in His disciples. 

No one is exempt from this love of Jesus! A couple I know help with a prison ministry. These people in prison have committed terrible crimes and are seen by the community as dangers. They are seen as unredeemable. This couple goes in and they love them. They pray with these men and women and they cry with them.

Paul said in his letter to the church in Rome:

”No power on earth or heaven can separate us from God's love. Not our sin, not any authority, not any spiritual force. God's love is unshakable and can always be relied upon.”

When Jesus died for us, He reconciled with us. The dictionary defines “reconcile” as to restore friendly relations between, or cause to coexist in harmony. So when Jesus died there was a unification of mankind that Paul describes in his letter to the Galatians:

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

No human being can be an enemy of God; there is no sin that can separate us from the love of our Father. Sin may separate us from God but never ever from His love. God loves everyone on this earth. Showbread (a pretty awesome band) reminds us of this very bluntly in their song “Man With a Hammer”.

“Thieves and liars
Murderers and [prostitutes]
Homosexuals, extortionists
Pedophiles, abortionists
Junkies and rapists
Adulterers and terrorists.
Every woman, every man
All ransomed by your love for them”

Do you remember in the old cartoons we watched Saturday morning there was always the “bad guy”? And this guy was so mean…he’d try to kill the hero (or heroine) and destroy the earth. Ian McShane (the guy who played Blackbeard in Pirates 4) talked about the bad guys on TV nowadays.

“We don’t call them bad men anymore, we call them complicated

characters. Interesting people with difficult childhoods – not bad people.”

I don’t always agree with how television portrays people, but this portrayal is so true. See, I personally believe that all humans have the same potential to do good and the same potential to do wrong. If I had the same life experiences or the same chemical imbalance – I could very well be a murderer, a pedophile or a terrorist.

I am so thankful that God loves all people no matter what they have done. I’m glad that God is not exclusive and only for a certain people group. And I love that Jesus calls us to such an upside down kingdom where the weak lead the strong.

You see, in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul said that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. Which makes sense when you think about it. The people God picks in the Bible are always the weaklings. Abraham, Moses, King David, and Peter for example! That’s why it makes sense that Jesus told His disciples “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.”

Another song I love by a guy named Chris Rice talks about visiting a guy in prison. He says:

“When I stoop down low, look him square in the eye
I get a funny feeling, I just might be dealing
With the face of Christ”

When we look into the faces of some of the beautiful and broken people of this world – including the face we see in the mirror – may we see the face of Christ reminding us of His love and His grace and that we should reflect that in everything we do.

Discussion Questions:

1.     Where do you see Jesus? (Ex. children, the mentally challenged, etc)

2.     Where do you struggle to see Jesus?

3.     Why do you think Jesus has such an upside-down kingdom?

Jesus is the Hungry - to be fed.
Jesus is the Thirsty - to be satiated.
Jesus is the Naked - to be clothed.
Jesus is the Homeless - to be taken in.
Jesus is the Sick - to be healed.
Jesus is the Lonely - to be loved.
Jesus is the Unwanted - to be wanted.
Jesus is the Leper - to wash his wounds.
Jesus is the Beggar - to give him a smile.
Jesus is the Drunkard - to listen to him.
Jesus is the Mental - to protect him.
Jesus is the Little One - to embrace him.
Jesus is the Blind - to lead him.
Jesus is the Dumb - to speak for him.
Jesus is the Crippled - to walk with him.
Jesus is the Drug Addict - to befriend him.
Jesus is the Prostitute - to remove from danger and befriend her.
Jesus is the Prisoner - to be visited.
Jesus is the Old - to be served.

-         Mother Theresa